


Let's Talk

by sternenblumen



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Divorce, Gen, Parent-Child Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-21 07:52:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14911358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sternenblumen/pseuds/sternenblumen
Summary: There was something going on with Dustin, and Max thought someone needed to talk to him. She might not be the best person for the job but Max was someone who did what needed to be done. So talk they would.





	Let's Talk

**Author's Note:**

> While I love the headcanon I've seen in fics that Dustin's father is dead (and Dustin is having a hard time with dealing with the anniversary of his death), I discovered that the ST wiki says his parents are divorced. (Admittedly, that doesn't mean his father can't be dead and he can't be struggling with that ...) So I went with that for a chance at some bonding with Max over both of them being an only child of divorced parents.
> 
> I love Max but I'm not entirely sure I really captured her voice. It went into a bit of a different direction than originally planned but oh well ...
> 
> Thank you to my beta shapeyoursmile@tumblr.com! 
> 
> Kudos and reviews make writers happy :).

Dustin is someone who, as Max had learned, carried his heart on his sleeve most of the time. It is hard to miss when he is upset or angry – he isn't like Mike who gets broody or withdrawn or like Lucas who tends to explode.

So she couldn't help but notice when, a few weeks into the new school year, his behaviour changed.

He made it through the school day okay, if a bit more quiet than usual, but he kept blowing them off half the time when they wanted to hang out, and when he was with them, he was even more quiet than Will or Jane, looking as if he was somewhere else with his thoughts entirely.

Max knew the others have noticed, too, has seen the boys exchange worried looks even as they pretend to be annoyed by Dustin's flakiness. But she didn't know if they intend to do something about it, and as his strange behaviour neared the one-week mark, she decided that someone needed to. So she'd go and talk to Dustin.

Logically, she knew she probably wasn't the best person for the job. Of the whole group, she had known him the shortest time, even shorter than Jane, in a sense. And she wasn't one for serious talking, too – but she was for doing what needs to be done, and she didn't believe in letting others do your work for you. So, as it was her idea, she'd be the one to go and talk to him.

***

Mrs. Henderson opened the door and smiled at her. “Oh, hi Max!”

“Hi, Mrs. Henderson. Is Dustin home?” She was pretty sure he was. The boys had planned to meet up – without her and Jane today – but he had blown them off again. Lucas had sounded as if he was having a hard time hanging onto his annoyance when he had told her so on the phone, and she had almost asked him to come with her. But she didn't want to crowd Dustin, thinking it was likelier he'd talk to just one of them, and the other boys wanted to meet up anyway. So here she was, without him.

“Yes, he's in his room,” Mrs. Henderson said, stepping aside to let her in. “Just go on in, sweetheart.”

Max thanked her and knocked at Dustin's door just moments later, waiting until he answers: “Yeah?” Opening the door, she found him on his bed, reading a comic.

He looked up as she entered, surprised. “Hi Max!” he greeted, sitting up. “What's up?”

She walked over to his desk to plop down on his chair. “Lucas said you didn't want to meet the guys today,” she said.

Dustin's normally open face closed off, as if the shutters were coming down. “I wasn't in the mood,” he replied, his tone short.

“Yeah, well,” Max said, “you haven't been in the mood for much lately, it seems.” She crossed her arms, studying him closely.

“So what?” Dustin returned her gaze with narrowed eyes.

“So I thought it's time to talk to you and find out what's bothering you.”

Dustin's face darkened further. “I'm not in the mood for that, either.” At least he didn't deny something was bothering him – he'd have to know she'd never believe such a baldfaced lie.

Max snorted. “Maybe so. But I'm here now, so let's talk,” she told him, her tone a challenge.

Dustin set his jaw stubbornly. “And what if I don't?” he asked.

“Tough luck. I'm not gonna leave until I know what's up with you.” Max matched his stubbornness with ease but added in a more conciliatory tone, in an attempt to convince him: “C'mon, you know we've all noticed something is wrong. The guys and Jane are worried, too. Just talk to me – please?”

Dustin held her stare for another while, looking as if he was sorely tempted to call for his mom and have her thrown out. But bit by bit, the fight leeched out of his expression. And finally, he slumped against his bed's headboard and mumbled: “I got a letter from my father.”

“Oh, that's--” May almost said something stupid like “great” or “nice” but one look at Dustin's face made the words die in her throat. It was obvious that Dustin wouldn't appreciate such a remark – he didn't think it was great, and both his expression and tone said so. She quickly amended: “That's not something that happens often, I guess?”

Dustin's laugh was short and devoid of any humour. “Not often? Try never,” he said. “The last time I heard from him was before we moved here. So that's going on six years now. Not even a card for Christmas or birthdays.”

Max opened her mouth, closed it again. “Wow,” she finally said, an insufficient comment if there ever was one. She thought of her own dad who she didn't hear from nearly often enough – but then, he'd never wanted to be out of her life, that was what her mother wanted. Not to hear from him for what's almost half a life for a kid their age …

“Yeah,” Dustin said, kicking at the comics strewn over his bed. Silence settled over them again, and Max was unsure how to break it or if to break it at all. She had the feeling she didn't have to fear that Dustin wouldn't talk any more now that he'd started, so she tried to give him the time he needed.

… For a bit, but in the end, it was still her who broke the silence again. “So what did he write to you about?” she asked.

Dustin scowled down at his knees. “He told me he's got a new family,” he replied. “Like, a new wive, and she's got kids, too, and they'll have a baby soon.” He took a deep breath, and then it spilled out of him, so fast that Max had no chance to interject: “Isn't that the biggest bullshit ever? He needs to get a new family to remember that he already has a son?! He should take his new family and be happy with them, that's fine by me! Why does he need to come bother me about it? Writing shit like “I'd be a great big brother”! He doesn't even know how I am, hasn't seen me in years, so who knows what I'd be like as a big brother?! He's been so good at fucking off and leaving Mom and me alone for so long, why couldn't he keep doing that?”

He finally stopped, breathing hard, his hands clenching the bedspread. Max didn't say anything, was at a loss what to say, so all she could do was slipping off the chair and padding over to the bed, sitting down on the edge next to him. “You're right, that's really bullshit,” she said. “Parents suck sometimes. Or, well, in some cases all the time.” She bumped her shoulder against his, gently.

Dustin leaned against her shoulder a bit and nodded. “I don't get it,” he mumbled. “How can you do that, marry someone and have kids and everything, and then you end up hating each other and not caring about your kids any more? Until you remember one day, and you think you can just come back and pick them up like it's a doll you put in a corner and forgot about?”

Max sighed. “I don't know, and I kinda hope I'll never understand that.” She thought of Steve's parents who were never around (and Steve didn't seem to appreciate too much the times they were), of Will's dad, who he never talked about but she'd gathered enough from the others to know he was a dick like Neil, maybe not quite as bad but close, and her own mom who didn't seem to care or even notice how much she hated her stepdad and Billy. Parents really sucked sometimes, and she could do nothing but hope she'd never be one of those.

“True.” Dustin was quiet again, looking exhausted by his outburst. She hoped it's been a relief to let it all out.

But she was really bad at that “letting him take his own time” thing. “What does your Mom say?”

“I didn't tell her about it.” Seeing her shocked look, he raised his hands defensively. “I got the mail when that letter came, so she didn't see it. And yes, I know I need to tell her.” He raked a hand through his curls, biting his lip. “It's just … I mean, I don't remember a lot of it because Mom tried to keep me out of it as best as she could, and hey, I wasn't even eight yet, but the whole divorce business was pretty nasty, and I know she was really scared about my father taking me away from her.” His expression was helpless, lost. “I just don't wanna make her worry.”

“Well, I've got bad news for you, Henderson,” she told him bluntly. “Because I'm quite sure if the Party and I have noticed something's wrong, your Mom has, too.” There were parents who didn't suck, after all, and Mrs. Henderson was one of them, always doting on her son (and his friends and her cat and anyone she thought needed some mothering), telling him she loved him and providing endless amounts of hugs and kisses to the point of annoyance, so she was very sure she had noticed Dustin's bad mood – and it would certainly make her worry as much as it had his friends.

Dustin groaned, burying his head in his hands for a moment. “Yeah, I know.” His voice was muffled until he raised his head again and continued: “Maybe she can help me figure out what to do, at least, 'cause I've been trying to do that all week and still don't know what to write. I mean, shit, if it was only about him, I'm really tempted to not reply at all, see how he likes that. But--,” he trailed off. “But I'll have a little sibling soon.”

Max grinned. “You're such a softie.” She slung an arm around his shoulders. “Hey. Maybe your dad doesn't know you but I do. And I can tell you you'd be a pretty great big brother.”

Dustin returned the grin, putting his arm around her waist and giving it a squeeze. “And you're calling me a softie when you're going all mushy on me, Mayfield?”

***

A while later, he brought her to the door. Leaning against it while she was putting her skateboard down, he looked at her seriously. “Max,” he said, “thank you.”

She smiled, cocking her head at him. “No problem. But you should talk to the others, or else you'll have someone at your door for a repeat performance of that talk soon,” she told him. “I'd bet Lucas is next.”

Dustin laughed, and it was good to hear that it sounded more like himself than it had all week. “It's cute that you have so much faith in your boyfriend,” he shot back, “but my money would be on Wheeler.” He quickly held up his hands before she could glower at him. “I'm gonna talk to them. Promised.”

“Good.” She gave him a stern look but there was a grin hiding beneath it. “See you tomorrow, Henderson.” She waved and pushed herself off. That didn't go too badly, she thought as she skated home. Family sucked sometimes, but at least there were friends.


End file.
